Daphne x transatlantica 'Blafra' ETERNAL FRAGRANCE™ daphne
size/type
medium-sized shrub,small shrub
usual height
0,5-1m
usual width
0,5-1m
leaves
evergreen broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
less showy but noticeable
colour of flowers
blooming time
June-October
location
full sun
soil type
neutral
soil moisture requirements
dry and sharply drained (xeriscape)
USDA zone (lowest)
5b (down to -27°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Daphne is a large genus of about 50 species. They are deciduous or evergreen, and commonly renowned for their very fragrant flowers. Hybrid daphne transatlantica is a result of crossing two species of formerly European origin (d.caucasica and d.collina) but the plants used for cross pollination were cultivated in the USA. There were selected those with reliably evergreen foliage because the UK based breeders Anthony Robin White and Susan Barbara White had been looking for a truly evergreen plant with extended blooming time. It seemed like an impossible task and they nearly gave up until 1996 when the first cross-pollinated plant showed flowers. It was named ETERNAL FRAGRANCE™ and granted a US patent PP18321 in 2007.
Description of the plant:
ETERNAL FRAGRANCE™ is a compact and dense growing variety of a hybrid daphne with long flowering period. Its small flowers are tubular, almost white inside and pale lilac pink outside. They have a strong and sweet perfume and are produced in profusion from late May until early July, and then sporadically re-bloom until the last warm and sunny days of autumn. Leaves are evergreen or semi-deciduous in locations of its marginal hardiness, narrowly elliptic, 3-4 cm long, medium to dark green, and slightly glossy.It may seem to grow slowly but it bushes out quickly and you will be surprised what growth it can make in a couple of years. Left to its own devices it forms a handsome, dome-shaped shrub, almost one meter wide and tall. It needs no pruning or trimming for a nice shape, but it can take light pruning in late winter or early spring. Never prune too hard – trim only branches with leaves. The entire plant is toxic.
Daphne is usually slow growing, difficult to propagate, and detests transplanting. Hence its higher price on garden centre shelves. Yet once established it makes a beautiful shrub you will admire for many years. It naturally grows in sharply drained soil which is rather dry, yet not as dry as a xeriscape, which makes it an ideal rocky plant. Drainage is essential to keep it alive though ETERNAL FRANGRANCE™ will be quite happy in a normal garden soil of any pH. Keep it moist only for a few months after transplanting. Then do not water it ever again. It does not grow in pots. Do not fertilize but use soil fungi (mycorrhiza). Hardy to min. -27°C (USDA zone 5b), possibly a little lower.
Last update 30-06-2020
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
